Nice Try, Google, but You're No Idiot

Finally, we know the secret to Google's success.

It's plain old stupidity.

And that's straight from the mouth of CEO Eric Schmidt, who sat down last Friday with a group of reporters for an informal Q&A session during the Herb Allen Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. One of the reporters was Reuters reporter Kenneth Li, who transcribed choice excerpts and provided an audio file of the 39-minute chat.

Asked about the bad press Google has attracted, here's what Schmidt said:

"Between the time we filed to go public and the time we went public, the press was among the most unpleasant I have ever experienced. We were 'idiots,' we were 'useless.' We probably were idiots, I'm not criticizing the press. ... So, we looked at traffic and revenue and they were exploding. We had a very, very strong quarter right after the worst possible press about 'the idiots running the company.' "

After a pause, Schmidt said: "So, yes we are idiots -- and please write that down."

Schmidt got his wish, of course, as his quotes spread through the blogosphere. Searchblog was among the first, running it under a post titled, "Admitting Mistakes, Schmidt." Search Engine Watch ate it up, saying, "Some people may be a little disturbed by this unusual happenstance, but I think overall, it brings Google back to being human."

I agree. Schmidt's comment is human in the way that humans can be slippery and manipulative. Go back and listen to the audio of the interview (it starts at about the 26:14 point) and see for yourself whether this little speech sounds, as it did to me, very much rehearsed.

Schmidt's little speech came in response to a question about the negative press surrounding a used Boeing 767 jet bought by Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Rather than addressing the question directly, Schmidt pulls a classic bit of PR spin: evading the question with what appears to be an enticing quote that actually serves your agenda.